I just finished Claire Cook's book...Seven Year Switch. It was so relaxing to read this book...the perfect set up for summer. Here is my review...I am so thankful to Claire Cook and Allison McGeehon from Voice for my copy...after Kindling so many books it was so much fun to turn pages again!!!
Oh me…oh my…I do love a great absorbing fascinating charming and cleverly written summer book. Did I mention uniquely funny, too? If I didn’t…I am mentioning that right now. This is the tale of Jill and her 10 year old daughter Anastasia who have been making their way through life on their own for the last seven years. They have been abandoned by husband/father Seth who just couldn’t take a normal domestic life any more…not one more minute…so he tucked a note under a pillow and left and has not been seen or heard from in seven years. Life has been a struggle for Jill…she has worked and been the sole support of herself and her daughter. She has managed to buy a home and keep herself and Anastasia clothed and fed…but just barely. She has sacrificed her life and her dreams in order to care for her daughter. Jill and Seth began their life together as a carefree unworldly engaging couple. They were happy traveling the world stopping just long enough to pay their way to their next destination. However all of that changed when their daughter Anastasia was born.
One of the two became responsible…the other did not.
Jill works for a travel agency that books women only trips…girlfriend getaways. She also teaches a cooking class at a local community center to a group of senior citizens…funny, clever, quirky senior citizens. One day at the end of class she looks up to find her runaway husband Seth in the doorway. And of course he wants to see their daughter.
And now you know where this is going…
Mixed feelings, anger and resentment run rampant with Jill especially when she realizes that Anastasia is in desperate need of Seth. So…supervised visits with Seth and Anastasia, family dinners, wine and other tender gestures from Seth begin to confuse Jill into believing that perhaps there can be a future with Seth.
However…at just about the same time that Seth returns Jill meets Billy. He initially hires her to help him prep for a business venture in Japan and slowly chemistry between the two of them begins to grow. That is until
Jill sort of becomes overwhelmed by emotions toward both men and abruptly takes a girlfriend getaway to Costa Rica to sort through her life, her feelings, and her direction.
The trip and Jill’s fellow travelers help to clear her head and allow her to believe in herself again. There is a wonderful surprise visit from someone near the end of her trip that helps her to really know where she wants her life to go.
Seven Year Switch houses lots of really interesting characters who have tons of clever things to say. It was beautifully written with just the right amount of humor. Everyone sort of weighs in with a clever thought or two in this book. Next door neighbor Cynthia was one of my favorite characters…one of those characters you love to dislike but then find out she is uniquely likeable after all and capable of surprises, too.
I had no clue reading about Spanx could be so funny…that was Cynthia’s humor. It would not be summer for me without a Claire Cook book. I have been reading them for years and hope to always welcome summer with a new one.
